By now, Wallerstein's research has also informed a barrage of antidivorce polemics and ideological defenses of marriage that are far less subtle and humane than her own books.
What seems like a leisurely stroll through biography, travel writing and textual interpretation is "in fact" (if I may borrow Malcolm's deadpan formulation) a fierce assault on literary decorum, and a calm demolition of the ideological defenses that protect us from the writers we claim to love.
A century and a half can soften ideological defenses.
Mr. Abe had not been the front-runner in the party balloting on Wednesday; he ran second in the initial round to Shigeru Ishiba, a conservative but less ideological former defense minister.
Prosecutors have sought to demonstrate that Fields' actions were premeditated, and that he had an ideological motive, while defense attorneys have tried to argue that he acted in self-defense, according to reporters inside the Charlottesville, Virginia, courtroom.
"We have to take careful precaution and look out for the smallest detail, and build a strong political and ideological line of defense," General Wang says.
Mr. Kerry's speech here did not lay out a strong ideological perspective on defense, in keeping with his attempts in recent days to appeal to moderates by saying he wants to "move beyond labels" of Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative.
Perhaps an even bigger problem was Murphy's response to the woman, in which he compounded his alleged hypocrisy by seeming to claim ideological emptiness as a defense, saying, of his anti-abortion statement, "I've never written them.
Chief Judge Ginsburg, Judge Randolph's usual ideological ally, replied in defense of the opinion that "the court obviously must see all the government information" in order to fulfill the duty of appellate review that Congress gave it.
This wasn't shorthand for the notion of art as a political or ideological weapon, or entertainment as defense against despair.
